Vontobel Holding Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 277,758 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,220 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Yum China worth $13,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Yum China by 4,176.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,576,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505,053 shares in the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Yum China by 350.7% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270,560 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Yum China by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609,494 shares in the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its stake in Yum China by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,942,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hhlr Advisors LTD. acquired a new position in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth $29,977,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:YUMC opened at $49.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.99. The stock has a market cap of $18.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $52.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUMC has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc owns, operates, and franchises restaurants in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through KFC, Pizza Hut, and All Other segments. It operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Lavazza, Little Sheep, and Huang Ji Huang concepts. The company also operates V-Gold Mall, a mobile e-commerce platform to sell products; and offers online food deliver services.